What is DD Form 1540? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 1540, Registration for Scientific and Technical Information Services, November 2007, and its job is straightforward: Scientific and Technical Information Services, Registration for. That single line covers most of what people want to know before they download it.
Does it apply to your branch? Yes. The DD prefix means Department of Defense, not one service, so the same blank serves the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and the Coast Guard under Defense jurisdiction. There is no Army version and no Navy version to search for.
Who decides this form exists? not stated owns it; not stated directs its use. If someone told you to file this, the authority traces back to those.
Is this the right edition? The current one is dated not stated, and the publisher carries it as not stated. Check that against whatever copy you already have before going further.
What the form asks for
- Section 1 - General Information. (All applicants must complete Section 1.) 1. Organization name.
- 2. Suborganization name.
- 3.a. Classified or Business mailing address.
- 4. Attention. a. Name: last, first, middle initial.
- 4.c. Position/title.
- 4.d. Office symbol.
- 6. Fax numbers (include area code). a. Commercial.
- 6.b. D S N.
- 7. E-mail address.
- 8.a. Prime contract number (or other appropriate number) (contractors only).
- 9. Current or former DTIC user? Press space bar to mark X in first box if yes, second box if no.
- If yes, enter DTIC user code.
- 10. Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement Certification Number (contractors only).
- 8.b. Expiration date - four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 11. CAGE code.
- 12. DUNS number.
- 13. Type of access requested. a. Unclassified. X first box if Unclassified/Unlimited (public release) or second box if Unclassified/Limited (controlled distribution).
- b. Classified: X first box if confidential, second box if secret.
- c. Special accesses: X if Restricted Data.
- X if CNWDI.
- 10.b. Expiration date - four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- X if NATO confidential.
- X if NATO unclassified.
- X if NATO secret.
Download the form
Which files are here? These: PDF. How much work is involved? 2 pages, about 65 entry fields.
Why do two kinds of pdf exist? Because two kinds of user exist. One completes the form on screen and forwards a file; the other prints a blank and fills it by hand. The fillable release has interactive boxes, the printable release is a static image of the same page.
Should you type or write? Type, whenever the choice is yours. The reason is what happens after submission: the record gets copied and scanned, and every pass costs handwriting legibility that typed entries never lose.
Is xfdl worth downloading? Only if you have the viewer. The format comes from IBM Lotus Forms, which carried Defense form distribution for a long stretch, and no ordinary pdf application will read it.
What does any of this cost? Nothing. Every format listed is a free download. One practical note: save the file and open it in a desktop pdf reader, because browser previews often ignore interactive fields and lose what you typed.
Can you skip around the form? Better not to. The layout runs identification, then content, then certification, and entries near the bottom frequently take their meaning from what sits above them.
What is the first thing to check? The edition date on the face of the form. Does it read not stated? If not, the copy is superseded, and a superseded DD form is a real problem: Department-level revisions replace the blank for every service at once, so an old file on a shared drive is stale everywhere, not just in your office.
Can you leave fields blank? Not safely. A reviewer cannot tell a deliberate omission from a missed question, so mark inapplicable items N/A. And date fields? Match the format shown on the form — conventions differ, and misreading a date is easy.
What does the Privacy Act notice cover? Four things: the legal authority behind the collection, the purpose, the routine uses, and whether disclosure is required. When should you read it? Before entering personal information, while the choice is still open.
How do you sign electronically? With a digital signature, usually CAC-based, in a reader that handles it. Will typing your name work? Not as execution — it fills a field without certifying anything. Either way, the date goes in immediately after.
What sends forms back most often? An obsolete edition, blank required boxes, handwriting illegible after scanning, dates in a format the form did not ask for, and certification without a signature or without a date.
Is the form its own instruction manual? Partly. The rest sits in not stated, which is also the authority where the two texts conflict.
Where does the completed form go? To the office named in not stated or in your organization's local procedure. Should you keep a copy? Always — a scan or a saved file costs nothing and spares you the whole exercise if the original disappears.
Do you need to know which branch issued a related form? No. DD numbering is Department-wide and unified, which means the number on its own is a complete address for the document.
Do DA and DD numbers ever correspond? Never. DA numbering is Army-specific, administered by an Army proponent, while DD numbering is Department-wide under not stated or an equivalent Department office. Identical digits in the two systems mean two unrelated documents, which is why the prefix matters more than the number.
Why do editions change at all? Three reasons, mostly: the prescribing directive gets reissued, the information collected changes, or the required notice language is amended. Are you notified when it happens? No. Which is why confirming not stated at the moment you download is worth the few seconds.
What does this page actually provide? The blank form and a description of it. What does it not provide? Legal guidance, procedural rulings, or any assurance about a particular filing. Who answers those? not stated, the administrative office that serves you, or the authority identified in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1540?
- DD Form 1540, Registration for Scientific and Technical Information Services, November 2007
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?